


Vicar of Dibley, Season 2, Episode 1, Engagement

by TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer



Category: Vicar of Dibley
Genre: Analysis, Episode Review, Episode: s02e01 Engagement, Meta, Nonfiction, Season Premiere, Season/Series 02, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25179103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer/pseuds/TheSomewhatRamblingReviewer
Summary: Warning: Contains spoilers for the episode and the rest of the series. Complete.
Kudos: 1





	Vicar of Dibley, Season 2, Episode 1, Engagement

Open to a gag of someone filling a milk bottle from a cow.

Then, the show starts proper with a parish meeting. The newsletter is mentioned. In a few seasons, they won’t even remember having it.

After the meeting, Geraldine is typing at home. Coming in, Alice frets about the fact Hugo refuses to make a move. It’s revealed she and Hugo have known each over for twenty-six years.

Geraldine sends Alice home to have lunch and dress up, and then, she calls Hugo to invite him over. “And for God sake, try to look sexually attractive, would you?”

There’s a transition to Hugo arriving. He’s hoping she’s pulling a League of Gentlemen type thing, and this would actually be totally awesome. Geraldine dashes both of our hopes by telling him no. She asks him how he feels about Alice.

Hugo declares he loves Alice as Romeo loves Juliet. Geraldine is happy to hear this, and thus, both are stripped of any awesome points.

Geraldine makes Hugo promise he’ll kiss Alice the next time he sees her.

I feel compelled to say: No matter how much a person likes another person, just kissing said person is not a good idea. Kissing, unless there’s already a kind of established consent in place, should not be done without talking to the person first.

Alice arrives, and if he weren’t so easy-going, Hugo would want to kill everyone and everything including himself but especially Geraldine. As it is, Geraldine leaves the lovebirds standing in front of one another as she ducks into the kitchen. When she gets back, however, she finds them standing right where she left them. This prompts her to exclaim, “Oh, for heaven’s sakes, just kiss, you morons!”

I don’t know if I’d be terrified or awestruck to meet an actual person of the collar who does even half the things Geraldine does.

Hugo thinks maybe shaking hands will be better, and Alice readily agrees. However, Geraldine isn’t having this, and so, after shaking hands, the two move in for the kiss. “Houston, we have kiss-off!”

However, once they start, they refuse to stop.

Deciding to get some shopping done, she runs into Owen. I hate this subplot so much.

After being bribed, he helps her carry her stuff. She tells him to put the stuff into the kitchen, and he literally throws it in there. He notices the kissing couple, and they finally withdraw from one another.

They can’t speak properly after the workout their tongues and mouths just went through. “Right. They’re speaking in tongues,” Geraldine notes.

Alice drags Hugo away, and Owen gives a sob story about his ex-girlfriend. Somehow, this convinces Geraldine to let him kiss her. I hate this subplot.

Later, Alice and Geraldine are walking together. Hugo passes, and Alice abandons Geraldine to snog him some more.

Then, at the end of a service, Alice and Hugo are lying on the ground snogging as everyone is forced to step over them.

Does Dibley have a motel? Does this mean David didn’t come to service? Even more unrealistically, has no one called David and blathered on about the lovebirds?

There’s a scene of Alice playing tennis with some man. She abandons the game in favour of kissing Hugo.

At the Horton household, Hugo announces he has a girlfriend. David makes it clear he’ll be happy so long as the girlfriend isn’t Alice.

In the next scene, Hugo reveals to Geraldine David didn’t take the news well. He says he’s going to replace one particular word his father used with the word “duck”. This brings what I consider the funniest speech of the episode: “He asked me what the duck I was playing at. Said he didn’t give a flying duck if I ducking loved Alice ducking Tinker. If I ducking kissed her again, he’d make sure I was well and truly ducked.”

“Ah, duck me,” is Geraldine’s response.

The bell rings, and Hugo hopes it isn’t Alice. He gives a surprisingly eloquent speech about having to make a difficult discussion and needing to avoid being distracted by her. Coming in, Alice wants to do more snogging, and Hugo simply leaves.

He could have handled this better, but it’s understandable why he didn’t.

Breaking the 9th commandment, Geraldine claims Hugo sprained his tongue.

Alice goes to make tea, and the bell rings. It’s Owen. I hate this subplot.

Owen proposes, and Geraldine reacts as many sensible people would by laughing long and hard; of course, I’m sure there are those who would be able to remain a bit more tactful in their handling of the situation.

It turns out, however, he’s serious. Thankfully, he leaves, and Alice reappears. She’s excited about the proposal due to automatically assuming Geraldine has any intention of saying yes. Geraldine clears up this belief, and the bell rings.

It’s Frank and Jim. She explains about the Owen situation, and they inform her the men in his family have a tendency towards death by suicide due to broken hearts.

Let me make this clear: Suicide is often a tragedy. Though I’ve made jokes about suicide, I have never told a person to kill themselves. I’ve never joked about an actual person’s suicide or their attempt at it.

Furthermore, I would urge anyone who feels suicidal to seek help.

With all this said, no one has the right to use the threat of suicide as a way of emotionally manipulating others.

Now, in fairness, Owen never uses this threat. It still bothers me Geraldine, who gives counselling to those who come to her, actually considers marrying a man because she’s afraid of it happening. What kind of advice would she give to someone who was being forced to do something due to someone they cared about holding such a threat over them? Because, if the answer is she’d tell them to do it, I want her stripped of her collar immediately. I have no use for any counsellor, fictional or real, religious or secular, who actively or passively victimises people.

Alice suggests Geraldine have a drink, and Geraldine refuses. Alice leaves. Then, after an obnoxiously long time, Geraldine starts drinking. I hate this subplot so much.

Owen comes, and she thankfully turns him down.

I will say Geraldine’s sarcastic, “That is one hell of a charming dude,” after Owen leaves is funny. However, it’s nowhere enough to in anyway redeem this horrid subplot.

Over at the Horton house, David wants Geraldine to help him find a different girlfriend for Hugo. She points out Hugo and Alice are made for one another, and David disagrees. He withdraws his new will. Hugo comes in, and handing him the will, David informs him he will be completely disowned if he continues on with Alice. “You will have nothing.”

There’s a significant pause, and Hugo silently gulps. Then, he truly becomes a man, the man he had to become without his father’s help, when he hands the will back. His polite, firm answer is, “On the contrary, sir; I shall have everything in the world I desire.”

There’s a montage of Alice and Hugo doing various things together.

Going to the church, Hugo proposes to Alice. She accepts.

James Fleet and Emma Chambers do a remarkable job of making this scene absolutely touching whilst still keeping true to their characters' characterisations.

Appearing, Geraldine expresses her happiness over the fact Alice said yes. She plans to use their engagement announcement as the dominating feature of the newsletter they will all soon forget.

The closing joke is about eating Christmas lights.

I liked this episode, but due to the abominable Owen subplot, I can’t say I loved it.

Fin.


End file.
